An afternoon series finale against the Yankees and the Tigers came out big on a sunny Detroit day. Matt Manning squared off against Clarke Schmidt, and had himself a very nice day, so let’s see how this Tigers win shaped up, in case you were working and not playing hooky at the park.
Manning issued a leadoff walk to DJ LeMahieu, but got the next three outs. In the bottom of the inning, Riley Greene got a one-out single and Spencer Torkelson walked, but neither baserunner scored.
In the second, Jake Bauers got a single, but then got caught stealing to end the inning. Zack Short was able to reach first on a wild pitch, but did not get any further.
The third went 1-2-3 for Manning, and in the bottom half the Tigers got a baserunner in Zach McKinstry, but he was then eliminated by a double-play.
Anthony Volpe got a double off Manning in the fourth, but then Manning successfully picked him off at second. On the Tigers’ side, Kerry Carpenter singled and successfully stole second, but the team couldn’t bring him home.
Manning had another 1-2-3 in the fifth, and the Tigers finally figured things out at bat in the bottom half to give him a bit of support. Short hit a solo home run. Carson Kelly walked and then advanced to second on a groundout. A Greene single scored Kelly, then Ibanez reached on a single. A Carpenter single then scored Greene and at the end of the fifth the Tigers were up 3-0.
Manning allowed a leadoff walk to Oswaldo Cabrera, but a flyout and double play ended the inning. That was the end of the day for Matt, who went 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K on 81 pitches. Really nice outing. The Tigers managed only a walk to Kelly in the bottom half, and no runs.
Jason Foley was out of the pen for the Tigers and had a clean 1-2-3 inning. On the Tigers side of things, Andy Ibanez got a one-out double, but no runs scored.
Tyler Holton was next out of the pen, because Hinch is nothing if not consistent. He also had a 1-2-3. Parker Meadows got a ground rule double in the bottom of the eighth, and Short followed with a walk. Kelly then got a walk to load the bases. Sadly the Tigers left them loaded and headed into the ninth.
It was up to Alex Lange to finish it off. Cabrera (the other one) reached on a bunt single. LeMahieu got a one-out single and was then eliminated in a fielder’s choice that sent Cabrera to third and landed Gleyber Torres on first. An Anthony Volpe homer then tied the game, because yup. In the bottom of the ninth Akil Baddoo was on in a pinch-hitting role, but grounded out. The Tigers went out in order, so it was onto the tenth.
Beau Brieske was the man on the mound in the tenth, and he had a clean outing. Almost like he should have pitched in the ninth. With one out in the tenth, Parker Meadows was walked intentionally. In one of the weirdest endings I’ve ever seen Short hit into a fielder’s choice, and Carpenter scored. The play was reviewed because Meadows may have interfered with the second baseman on a slide, but it was confirmed clean, and the Tigrers walked it off.
Final: Tigers 4, Yankees 3